Student jailed after destroying lecturer's life with twisted web of lies that cost her job, home and marriage

Elisa Bianco, from Cornwall, pretended she had terminal cancer and had been abused by her parents to move in with caring Sally Rettallack - then used mind games to cause problems between Sally and her husband

Mr Lee said: "Mrs Retallack drove her every day to the hospital and dropped her off at the reception in her pyjamas with a day bag, and every evening one of them would collect her.

"She said her condition was deteriorating - her cancer was malignant and growing - and eventually she told them she had three months to live and produced more forged letter and hospital forms to convince them."

Fed-up with the impact the defendant had on family life, Mr Retallack eventually left his wife, it was heard.

Mr Lee said: "Mrs Retallack describes how they had become estranged as a result of the overwhelming effect of the defendant's needs upon their family life, and, as she puts it, he had sought solace elsewhere.

"The defendant's deceit though continued relentlessly."

Pretending she was in constant pain, Bianco started sleeping in Mrs Retallack's bed so Sally could care for her round the clock.

But then Bianco set up Mrs Retallack with her consultant physician 'John', who she said had recently lost his wife.

In July 2013, Mrs Retallack and 'John' - who was actually Bianco in disguise - started e-mailing and their "friendship blossomed".

The court heard he "seemed the perfect man" and their correspondence became "intimate" but when they arranged to meet he said he had lung cancer.

"In fact, all the e-mails and all this contact with the consultant were a complete fiction invented and maintained, day after day, by the defendant," Mr Lee said.

Meanwhile Bianco told Mrs Retallack she wanted to die at home and she forked out £2,000 on a bucket list of activities, as well as a 'final' birthday party in August 2013.

Zoo visit: Elisa Bianco is pictured meeting the penguins at London Zoo as part of her bucket list as she pretended that she only have three months to live

Friends were duped by the compulsive liar and cried at the party, with one even bringing a locket for her to be buried wearing, the court heard.

But when Bianco threatened to take her own life, Mrs Retallack insisted they drive to see the consultant 'John'.

As they drove, heartless Bianco asked Mrs Retallack to pull over and read her a text message saying he had died.

The court heard she even sent a devastated Mrs Retallack an invented death-bed love note and flowers which tragically arrived the day after he 'passed away'.

Mr Lee said: "[She] showed her a text messages supposedly from a nurse to the effect: 'John's heart is going to fail...don't think he's going to make it...' then a further message: 'gone'."

But the family grew suspicious and Mr Retallack confronted her but her lies were "so plausible and convincing" he "felt embarrassed" having questioned her.

During the course of his digging Mr Retallack tracked down Bianco's father who "told him something" of the truth.

Then on August 12, 2013, after Bianco said her father was planning to take her home, Mrs Retallack went to hospital where she discovered the truth.

Staff at the renal ward in Royal Cornwall Hospital said they had no knowledge of the defendant.

On leaving the hospital she saw Bianco sitting in the café in her pyjamas and when she asked if she had made it all up she simply answered "yes".

A month later the fraudster was questioned by police and confessed she had lied about her home life and medical conditions, forged letters and created a fake e-mail account.

Distraught Mrs Retallack realised she had never looked under the dressings and had thought 'John' had a high-pitched voice.

She found receipts for dressings at her home, and a device which "made the noise that she claimed was the sound of her ribs cracking", the court heard.

Sally - who has moved to France to start a new life - sobbed in court as she bravely read out a victim impact statement about how Bianco had torn apart her family.

A special day out: Elisa meets the penguins at London Zoo

She said: "I was an outgoing, positive, career minded individual who loved her job and developed a real pride and satisfaction nurturing the young people who would be in my care."

She added: "I had a close, loving home life. My entire family had empathy for Elisa's personal situation and welcomed her into our home.

"Now I have no career, no job, no husband, little self confidence and have recently started to try and rebuild my life by moving to France.

"Very gradually throughout the period that Elisa was in my life, she manipulated her way daily more deeply into my life by lying, acting, increasing dependency by creating a fictional realm of both physical and emotional circumstances, that subtly started to build barriers between myself and my friends and family; in fact anyone that took my time, attention or focus away from Elisa.